Poroshenko Signs Law Allowing Dissolution Of Parliamentary Factions

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed into law amendments to parliamentary rules that allow the speaker to dissolve parliamentary factions.

Poroshenko's press secretary, Svyatoslav Tseholko, wrote on Twitter that the law was signed on July 22.

The Ukrainian parliament passed the legislation earlier that day.

The law gives the parliament speaker the right to dissolve a faction that has fewer members than it did when it was formed during the first session of parliament.

Several members of the Ukrainian Communist Party’s parliamentary faction have quit recently, greatly reducing its size.

Meanwhile, the Kyiv District Administrative Court is expected to start hearings on banning the Communist Party on July 24.

Ukraine's Communist Party has positioned itself as a force promoting closer ties with Russia, which some politicians claim led to it illegally supporting and providing assistance to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.